A/N: Part one of my new XM:FC AU, the Futureverse. Hope you like it...I'll try to post quickly!
~LoverBoyWonder
Shaw scowled at the assorted men lined up in front of him. "Now listen up, you maggots," he sneered, "You may be perfect little upper-class boys, but I am a general, and war is upon us. The battlefield needs men. Not boys. So I will tell you once: choose a crew wisely. Possession of anything less than the perfect crew will not achieve victory. It will only succeed in getting you killed." Many of the lined-up men nodded fiercely in agreement with the young, tan general; some of the men stared out of the window behind Shaw, staring at the vacuum of space and stars; a few looked terrified. Charles looked back at Shaw evenly, meeting the man's eyes and listening attentively. Shaw ignored them all and continued talking.
"Alright," he said, leveling a finger at them. "We'll let you talk to the recruits. Remember to choose wisely," he snickered darkly. Charles Xavier was relatively new to all of this; the warfront, the battlefields, the angry generals. He wasn't a fighter, anyway; he was an ambassador trying to gain for the human race what everyone wanted: peace. Some people seem to enjoy the war, he observed dryly as he glanced at Shaw's animated features. Then again, the humans had been at war with half of the known universe for as long as anyone could remember. The aliens didn't like when the humans landed on their planets and started divvying up the land, or started businesses, or made unfair agreements with the leaders of other planets.
Anyway, Charles reflected, using a little bit of diplomatic skill will hopefully be enough to get us out of this current crisis. The humans on the terraformed planet Sigma-Delta IV had been looking into making an agreement with the neighboring planet Galstir for more land; the humans were reproducing at a rate that would have them overpopulated within a few short years. However, Galstir's people had been less than enthusiastic about hearing the plethora of rumors about the human race. So the humans prepared for another bloody battle, another show of force; and Charles had put forth his résumé which consisted of consulting jobs, thank you very much, and the government had seen his recommendations and asked him to go into Galstir to try to alleviate the pressures. With any luck, Charles would be able to show them that the humans meant no harm and that sharing the land would be beneficial to everyone involved.
There was the matter of actually getting to Galstir, though, and that's why Charles was here listening to Shaw put them down. The army would allow government officials to fly, but if you wanted to pick and choose your own group from among the recruits, there were certain channels that had to be passed through and things like safety lectures that had to be attended. Charles was looking forward to choosing his crew; he knew that since there was a war on, after all, it was safer to form a group of people who all trusted one another and stick together. That way, if there was any danger, they would all work together and hopefully have a better chance of survival. Space was dangerous, and there was never any knowing when enemy alien forces might attack.
As Shaw finished talking and had placed his hands on his hips, looking pleased with himself, he spoke to a nearby guard who used his comm device to call another guard, who opened the door to the room that the recruits were gathered in. Charles had never done this before, but he was determined to put together a good, solid crew. He tugged on the hems of his shirt, straightened his cuffs, and entered the room, one man amongst the various others putting together flight crews.